Doesn't show the hard drive. Windows doesn't see the second hard drive. The computer does not see the system disk

One press of a button is enough for the computer to turn on. Unfortunately, there are times when the system fails to initialize the hard drive. In this case, the problem may arise not only with the additional hard drive, but also with the main HDD. Why doesn’t the computer see the hard drive and how to deal with it?

In fact, there are several reasons that contribute to hard drive failure. In most cases, the problem can be fixed on your own. To correct the situation, you need to understand the reason that caused the breakdown.

The main reasons for the “disappearance” of a disk

When a hard drive disappears, the first thing that comes to mind is incorrect connection hard drive to motherboard. In fact, there are several reasons that cause this problem. The main “failures” of the storage medium include:

  • Lack of contacts;
  • The disk boot priority is incorrectly specified;
  • Old operating system;
  • The system does not support the connection interface;
  • Lack of drivers;
  • Lack of nutrition;
  • Missing section letter;
  • Device conflict;
  • BIOS failure.

It doesn’t matter why the computer does not see the hard drive, you need to understand what to do in a given situation.

A common reason that causes a hard drive to “disappear” can be considered to be an incorrect connection. When connecting a cable or power cable, users sometimes do not insert the chips tightly. As a result, the motherboard does not see the hard drive.

The same situation may occur if the connector on the motherboard is not functioning. To correct the situation, you need to double-check the correct connection, as well as the functionality of the port (it is best to temporarily use a different connector). The same applies to cables; it is better to replace them.

Disk boot priority

If you have connected the hard drive correctly, but the system does not see it, most likely the problem is with boot priorities. To fix the problem, you need to enter the BIOS. To do this, press one of the following buttons (each computer has its own key):

  • Delete;

When the BIOS loads, go to the “Boot” tab. After this, you need to install your disk in the “Hard Disk Boot Priority” item. Once the setup is complete, you need to press the F10 button for the changes to be saved and the computer to restart. Now all that remains is to wait for the system to boot.

Old operating system

Technologies do not stand in one place. Every year new storage media appear, the volume of which is growing in arithmetic progression. Many users purchase hard drives with a capacity of 1 TB or more, but do not want to part with outdated operating systems. For example, Windows XP.

Unfortunately, legacy systems are not capable of handling large volumes. The problem can be solved by simply reinstalling the operating system. If you don’t want to do this, you can use specialized software such as Partition Manager. Programs add support hard drives volume up to 2 TB.

Connection interface problem

Another problem with outdated operating systems is the detection of the SATA connector. If you connect a hard drive to such a port, the system will not detect it. You can solve the problem by reinstalling the OS.

Those who don’t want to part with their favorite OS need to go to a store that sells SATA-IDE adapters. It should be noted right away that such devices may not be available in every store, so it will take some time until the adapter is delivered to the warehouse.

Lack of drivers

A similar situation occurs on weak computers, on which an outdated operating system is installed. When new devices come onto the market (hard drives are no exception), operating system developers add all the necessary drivers to the distribution.

If the hard drive was connected, but the system detected it as unknown device, you need to download drivers. This can be done either from the official website of the manufacturer or using special driver packs. For example, Driver Pack Solution.

Installation does not take much time. After installing the drivers, the hard drive will be automatically detected. You may need to restart your computer.

Lack of nutrition

Some users of old devices write: “what to do if the computer does not see the disk.” At the same time, the wires and connectors are working, and the system is new. In fact, the reason for the absence of a hard drive may be a simple lack of power.

When purchasing a new drive, you need to ask the seller how much energy the device consumes. It is also necessary to calculate how much energy the system unit and all its components consume. After this, you need to pay attention to your power supply. Maybe he's just weak. In order for the hard drive to work, you will have to consider purchasing a more powerful power supply.

Partition letter missing

There are times when the system does not see a hard drive connected as an additional drive. If the OS installed the driver, there are “traces” in the device manager hard drive detected, but the drive is not displayed in “My Computer”, you need to go to administration.

To do this, open Start and then select Control Panel. In the window that opens, you need to click on the “Administration” section.

After a second, a new window will open with a list of control elements. You need to find the Computer Management section and then go to it.

In the next step, in the left column you need to find the “Disk Management” item. All connected drives will be assigned a letter, except the one you recently connected. You need to right-click on the hard drive, and then select “Change drive letter” from context menu. Now all that remains is to select any letter. It is recommended that you restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

It is important to note that in rare cases, even after assigning a letter, the hard drive does not appear in “My Computer”. Most likely the reason is an unsupported file system. In "Disk Management", you need to call the context menu with the right mouse button, and then format the system by setting file system NTFS.

There is a device conflict

Users sometimes do not understand why the computer does not see the disk if the connection is made correctly? In rare cases, a device conflict may occur. This happens when two identical drives made by the same company are installed.

To fix the problem, you need to connect the drive to the motherboard one by one, and then specify in the BIOS the hard drive on which the operating system is installed.

BIOS failure

It is extremely rare that a situation may occur when the BIOS fails. Why the computer does not see the disk in this case is difficult to say. Sometimes a DVD-ROM or video card may disappear. The problem can be resolved by resetting the BIOS.

First you need to turn off the power to your PC. Then find the jumper (small “contact closure”) located on the motherboard. It can be found near the battery. The jumper should be moved to pins 2-3. Now you need to wait about 15 seconds. This time should be enough to reset the settings. All that remains is to return the jumper to its original location and restart the computer. The system will automatically detect new disk.

If you are unable to find the jumper, it is recommended to use the second method of resetting the BIOS. After turning off the power, you need to remove the round battery from the motherboard. The reset will occur within one minute. When the battery is returned to its place, the computer can be turned on.

Do I need to contact specialists?

In 95% of cases, cope connecting hard any user can use the disk. If you have tried all the methods described above and the hard drive still does not appear on your computer, you can contact a specialist. Most likely the problem is a broken hard drive or motherboard.

You can also contact specialists if the disk is malfunctioning. In this case, the device makes characteristic sounds, errors appear, or the disk disappears altogether.

Conclusion

Most often, users who discover a disk connection problem begin to get nervous. You need to calm down, as serious consequences may arise. You should analyze the situation and then go through the methods described above. In most cases, you can solve the problem on your own. If you decide to use specialized software, carefully study the functionality and instructions.

Video review: what to do if the PC does not see the hard drive?

If after Windows reinstallation 7 or 8.1, as well as after updating them to Windows 10, your computer does not see second hard drive or the second logical partition on the drive (drive D, conditionally), in this manual you will find two simple solutions problem, as well as a video guide on how to fix it. Also, the described methods should help if you installed a second hard drive or SSD; it is visible in the BIOS (UEFI), but not visible in Windows Explorer.

If the second hard drive is not shown in the BIOS, but this happened after any actions inside the computer or simply after installation second hard disk, I recommend first checking to see if everything is connected correctly: .

Below is a short video guide, where all the steps to add a second disk to the system (turn it on in Explorer), described above, are shown clearly and with some additional explanations.

Making the second disk visible using the command line

Attention: The following method to fix the missing second disk situation is by using command line is given for informational purposes only. If the methods described above did not help you, and you do not understand the essence of the commands below, it is better not to use them.

I also note that these steps apply without changes to basic (not dynamic or RAID disks) without extended partitions.

Run Command Prompt as an administrator, then enter the following commands in order:

  1. diskpart
  2. list disk

Remember the number of the disk that is not visible, or the number of the disk (hereinafter referred to as N), the partition on which is not displayed in Explorer. Enter the command select disk N and press Enter.

In the first case, when the second physical disk is not visible, use the following commands (attention: the data will be deleted. If the disk is no longer visible, but there was data on it, do not do this, it may be enough to simply assign a drive letter or use programs to recover lost partitions ):

  1. clean(cleanses the disk. Data will be lost.)
  2. create partition primary(here you can also set the size=S parameter, specifying the partition size in megabytes, if you need to make several partitions).
  3. format fs=ntfs quick
  4. assign letter=D(we assign the letter D).
  5. exit

In the second case (there is an unallocated area on one hard drive that is not visible in Explorer), we use all the same commands, with the exception of clean (disk cleanup), as a result, the operation to create a partition will be performed on the unallocated space of the selected physical disk.

Note: in the methods using the command line, I described only two basic, most likely options, but others are possible, so do this only if you understand and are confident in your actions, and have also taken care of the safety of the data. You can read more about working with partitions using Diskpart at official page Microsoft

Follow these steps in order. If the first does not help, move on to the second and so on.

What to do if a Windows computer does not see the hard drive

Disk does not show up in BIOS

1. If you have just connected the hard drive, check if you did it correctly. Find the official instructions for your motherboard and hard drive and follow all manufacturers' recommendations.

2. If you are trying to install Windows XP or more old version and the system reports that there is no hard drive, make sure that the hard drive mode compatible with this OS is enabled in the BIOS - IDE. To do this, find the SATA operation setting in the BIOS (SATA Mode, SATA Configuration or a similar name). Set the value to IDE, save changes and restart your computer.

3. If possible, check the functionality of the hard drive by connecting it to another PC. If it works, look for faults in the motherboard or other components of your computer. If not, you can take the hard drive to a service center.

Disk doesn't show up in Windows

1. Make sure that HDD included in BIOS settings. To do this, restart the computer and, as soon as the machine starts to turn on, press the F2 or DEL key (the desired key is usually displayed on the screen) until you get to the BIOS.

Then find the disk management section (Storage Configuration, Drive or a similar name) and make sure that the desired hard drive is activated. Opposite it should be the words Active, On or something similar. Save the changes and restart your PC.

2. Check whether Windows has properly prepared the disk for use. First open a command prompt window ( Windows keys+ R), then enter in it diskmgmt.msc and press Enter. Carefully read all system warnings so as not to accidentally format the drive or change the data recorded on it.

If you see a disk without a volume label in the Disk Management menu, this may be the cause of the conflict. Then right-click on the drive and assign a letter to it using the appropriate option in the context menu. Then restart your computer.

If in the same menu you see a new disk labeled “Not initialized,” right-click on it, select “Initialize disk” and follow the Windows prompts. After initialization, click on the disk again to open the context menu, select “Create a simple volume” and act according to the system instructions. When finished, restart your PC.

3. Download latest drivers for the hard drive from the manufacturer's website and install them.

4. Check your computer for malware using an antivirus.

5. Try it after saving all important data.

If none of the above helps, contact a service center for assistance.

What to do if Mac does not see the hard drive

Mac won't boot

If you have a modern Mac, it will most likely have one drive. And it is obvious that if there are problems with it, the computer simply will not boot. In this case, it is necessary to carry out diagnostics with using Apple Hardware Test using the network mode.

Connect your Mac to a power source and disconnect all external devices except the keyboard, mouse, monitor, and Ethernet cable. Turn off your Mac by holding the power button for a few seconds.

Turn on your Mac while holding Option keys+ D. After running Apple Hardware Test, diagnose the components by following the wizard's prompts.

If disk errors are detected during testing, you will have to contact service. It will be possible to carry out repairs yourself only on older models with HDD by replacing the disk.

Drive doesn't show up in Finder

1. If your Mac has several disks and the problem is not with the boot disk, but with the auxiliary disk, then the computer will boot, but the disk will not be accessible. In this case, you need to check whether it is displayed in " Disk Utility».

To do this, open the application from the Applications → Utilities folder or through Spotlight and check if the disk is visible. If so, you can try formatting it (keep in mind that this will delete all data).

2. If the drive is not listed in Disk Utility, you should check whether it appears in System Information.

Open the utility through the Apple menu → System Information and then click the System Report button. Go to the "Storage" tab or SATA interfaces / SATA Express. Check if the required drive is available there.


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If the disk is not displayed, you can conduct diagnostics using Apple Hardware Test as described above, and if errors are detected with the disk, contact service for repair.

From time to time, a computer or laptop needs to replace components, and probably the most common component is the hard drive. Today our conversation will focus on why the computer does not see the hard drive. It’s a fairly common problem, but there is a solution, and moreover, more than one.

As usual, I will tell you about several ways to make the system recognize the disk; you choose the one that you think is the most convenient and fastest.

By the way, if your computer does not see external hard disk, then this article is also relevant for you.

Disk check

First let's look at the solution to the problem with standard means Windows 7. Right-click on the “Computer” icon, or on the inscription of the same name in the “Start” menu if there is no icon on the desktop. In the pop-up menu we are interested in the “Management” item, then “Disk Management”.

Here we wait a couple of seconds while the information is loaded. Right-click on the drive that is not displayed in the system and select “Change drive letter or drive path...”.

To change the letter, click the "Change" button. Give this hard drive a letter and click OK.

Then, if you don't like the new letter, you can do the same procedure, changing the letter back. Often these manipulations are not enough for Windows to see the hard drive.

Above in the images I showed how to do this in Windows 7, if you have a different system, then read more in: “”.

If there was a file on this hard drive Linux system, then in Disk Management you will see that the file system is not NTFS or FAT32. Then you can safely understand that the problem is not with the hard drive, but simply that Windows does not see this file system. To change this situation, you need the hard drive to be in NTFS.

Checking in the system unit

If the computer still does not see the hard drive, then before continuing, let's see if all the cables are connected to this hard drive. Don't skip this point, of course it's easier to sit on a chair and press the keys, but sometimes a little physical intervention is required in the system unit.

If you skip this recommendation and continue reading the article further, you may not achieve what you need. To do this, you need to turn off the computer and then remove the cover system unit. Next, check the wires that are connected to the hard drive. To be sure, unplug the wires from it and plug it in again. Now you can turn on your computer.

It should also be noted that the solution to this problem may be to replace the cable or power that is connected to the hard drive. If you don’t have a cable in your stash that transmits data, you can disconnect it, for example, from the drive during the test.

Driver problem

It is possible that you have some problems with your drivers. To fix them, you need to go to the manufacturer’s website, and we are specifically interested in the manufacturer of the motherboard. Download the most latest versions drivers for your board model (I won’t go into detail on this; any such site has a section where you select the model of the board you are interested in and select the most suitable driver).

If you bought an assembled computer, then the computer model must be written on the computer, then go to the office. website, indicate what computer and system you have. After which a list of drivers will appear, where you find required driver. Now, having installed the drivers, reboot.

By the way, if you have saved installation disk with drivers from the computer that came with the purchase - great! We insert it into the drive and install them.

Operating System not found error and BIOS settings

There is also a stupid situation when the computer does not see the hard drive on which, in fact, the system is recorded. In this case, the computer will not boot, but the following message will appear on a black background: “Operating System not found" (in translation - " operating system not found").

First, check that there is media in the drive, USB ports, as well as floppy. If they are not there, you must be 100% sure that the disk is connected correctly and, of course, Windows is recorded on it (well, at least some kind). We go into the BIOS using the above method, but this time we look for a menu whose name contains the word Boot (believe me, no matter what version of the BIOS it is, it is definitely there or may be called a little differently). We go there and in the line “1st Boot Device"We install the hard drive, and not the CD drive that can be selected there.

You can also try pressing the F12 button during boot, a menu may appear where you select CD ROM or DVD ROM. Thus, you do not need to make any changes to the BIOS.

You can also try resetting BIOS settings default. You also use the BIOS for this. If you cannot reset the settings, then use the battery on the motherboard to do this. To do this, turn off the computer, open the system cover and remove the battery for 5 minutes. Then put the battery back in place and turn on the computer. We must also not forget that the cause of this problem may be a dead battery, and if this is the case, then it needs to be replaced.

If nothing has changed, again in the BIOS we look for the Marvell IDE Controller parameter. It may be located in a section whose name contains the words IDE, SATA, Device Type. Set the value to Enabled if it is different.

Formatting

If Windows does not see the hard drive, then the way out of this situation is formatting. But there’s one caveat here: you need to format it not from the system itself (since it doesn’t see it), but through special programs that are loaded from under the BIOS.

One of the most popular programs that I often use to work with hard drives is software Acronis Disk Director. To boot from Bios, you must download a program marked BOOT. Next, burn the image to CD or DVD disc, go into the program and look for a disk that is not detected. If the disk is detected, then try to format it. If you need the data that is recorded on it, then try copying it to another medium.

Sometimes, this program saves me not only in this situation, but also in others, for example, if the system is infected and there is no way to log into it. To solve this problem, I go through this program and download the necessary data. Then I install a new system.

Have you started reading this paragraph? I sincerely sympathize with you, because apparently nothing helped you. This means we take the hard drive out of the computer and try to run it on another computer; if this is not possible, we take it to the service center so that it can be checked for functionality. In any of these options, you will decide whether to buy a new one or pay for repairs. But whatever happens, I sincerely wish you good luck with your hardware.

People who use removable storage devices sometimes encounter situations where the computer (PC) does not see the hard drive (HDD). Discs such as Transcend, Western digital, Seagate, Samsung, Ide are gaining increasing popularity and demand among people of different ages and are used for personal purposes, in study and work. Their main purpose is the storage and exchange of information between people and thanks to minimum size, practically comparable with the parameters mobile phone, it can be easily stored among personal belongings taken with you, while storing thousands of gigabytes.

It’s worth saying right away that cases when the computer does not see the hard drive occur quite often and turn out to be very unpleasant, especially when there is not much time. Let's try to understand the reasons and possible solutions this problem.

First of all, it is necessary to separate whether the disk is new or already previously used– this is essential in solution methods.

hard HDD drive on Windows 7, 8, 10

Under new hard drive What is meant, as is already clear, is not his age, but the fact that he was never recorded and, accordingly, was not connected to a computer or laptop.

  • Click on the shortcut " My computer"right click and select " Control«.

  • Find and click on “ Disk management", a window will open displaying the drives connected to the PC.

Drive letter value

A common cause of an error displaying a connected drive is the incorrect assignment of the drive letter, as a result of which the computer does not display it. Necessary detect the connected external hard drive HDD, detected by its name, size in MB (details are located at the bottom of the window) and distinguishable from the disk registered by the system, C, D, or other local disk marked when installing the operating system.

You can be sure that you have identified exactly the connected HDD: without closing the “Disk Management” window, unplug it and reconnect it to the computer; accordingly, it will disappear from the list and appear.

  • Then right-click on it and select another sequential letter after those available in the system.

The disk is not formatted

Very often, connected hard disks are not visible on the computer due to the fact that they are new and have not been previously formatted. If you find them in the menu " Disk management“, changing the letter value will not work for such a disk, due to the lack of such a function. Here you need to select the value “ Create a simple volume«:

Please note that during volume creation, formatting will occur - along with the markup, the disk will be completely erased. As a result, the information stored there (if you are not sure exactly) will be completely deleted.

Lack of drivers

Another common reason that a hard drive connected to a PC is not visible is the lack of drivers for it. Although Windows system takes such cases into account and reacts by trying to select from the available ones or by showing a window with the necessary search for drivers for the connected device. But still, failures occur and it may be that no information from the computer regarding this will appear.

  • In this regard, you first need to make sure that the USB port to which you connected is working. This can be done by connecting something else that is accurately detected by the computer (for example, a flash drive).
  • Then go to “ device Manager" (menu " Start" ->» Control Panel» -> « System and safety" or the key combination " Win+Pause Break" and select "Device Manager").

  • Open tab " Disk devices«.

  • « Other devices» and see if a device not recognized by the system is displayed with a yellow icon with exclamation point. If there is such a name or an undefined device (for example, the inscription “My passport”), right-click on it and select “ Update drivers«.
  • You can search and update drivers V automatic mode , by using special programs in the article (definition suitable driver by equipment ID and a link to find it on the Internet).

  • You can also try selecting the command “ Update system configuration" in the " tab Action". After that, the existing devices will be searched and the corresponding drivers will be installed.

The connected HDD is not visible previously used

If a disk that was previously used is not displayed, or, moreover, information is already stored on it, then you definitely need to make sure (if you don’t know for sure) that this hard drive is working by connecting it to another computer or laptop. The USB port to which the connection was made must also be in working order, and if you need to check it by connecting another device (flash drive) or check it by connecting the drive to another connector.

  • If you are sure that the HDD along with USB port is working, then you need to open the menu “ Disk management" (Pressing " My computer» right key and selecting « Control" and then press " Disk management") and look at the available disks and their affiliation with letter value (determined by name and size). If there is such a disk, then right-click on it and select “ Change drive letter", then the button " Change" and set the next letter after the drive letters already available on the computer.

  • There are cases when such disks may contain viruses and prevent them from being displayed correctly in the system or be blocked by some antiviruses (budget free antiviruses, they can do this) as a result, the hard drive is not visible on the computer.

Decide this problem you can connect again or try to find this disk on the menu " Disk Management"(above) and also change the letter value, perhaps some message from the antivirus will appear (about the presence of viruses or its blocking or “access denied”) and decide to check for viruses or check for viruses on another computer. After that, reconnect to the computer - if the viruses were really present and were removed as a result of the scan, then now this hard drive should start without problems (unless, of course, it was blocked for this reason).